'Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply' is an alternate US release of The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome which was released in the UK the preceding year. The title was lifted from a B-side track that was also added to the album track listing, along with 'Can't Tame A Hurricane'(another B-side) replacing Cocky Rock Boys and Razzle Dazzle Man on the original release. They also felt the need to shuffle the tracks around.

"...the Americans liked neither the title or the sleeve... they hated it so they brought it out as 'Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply' and it had this cartoon guitar neck with a cartoon hand, which I could have drawn myself in five minutes flat! They said it was this new 'techno something' that was taking us into the new age.... Bugs Bunny?"Noddy Holder: Radcliffe & Maconie, Radio 2, 2007

Interestingly, in addition to the lame cover art, it's worth noting that the hand on the front cover is a manicured and painted female, whilst the rear view on the reverse, the hand has clearly become male. Despite this, the album proved to be Slade's most successful American album over the group's more than 20 years of releases in the States. Both Run Runaway and My Oh My continue to receive consistent radio airplay in the United States and are considered Slade's most recognizable songs amongst Americans. Imagine, had the record company chosen something related to the Run Runaway video that the MTV audience recognised, what a difference it may have made. Of course, the same argument can be applied to the 'The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome' cover art?

The rock band Quiet Riot covered Slade's 1973 UK chart topper Cum On Feel The Noize. Although Slade's original had not been successful in the U.S., Quiet Riot's cover peaked at #5. The song helped Quiet Riot sell seven million copies of their album Metal Health. As a result of this success, Slade signed with CBS Records.

Run RunawayMy Oh MyHigh And DrySlam The Hammer DownIn The DoghouseKeep Your Hands Off My Power SupplyCheap N' Nasty LuvCan't Tame A Hurricane(And Now The Waltz) C'est La VieReady To Explode

Produced by Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd. except Run Runaway & My Oh My which were produced by John Punter. Manufactured and distributed by CBS Records Canada Ltd.Design by Jo Di Donato with artwork by Lou Brooks.

"Run Runaway", a celtic-flavoured rock-jig featuring some elliptical lyrics and the return of Jim Lea's fiddle. RCA saw the potential of the track and appointed John Punter to work on the track. The album version is extended to give more time for the Linn drum gallop. This track became the first hit in the US for Slade after years of trying to crack the American market, peaking at #20. The track is also a recommended track by allmusic.

"My Oh My" came as Lea had always wanted to write a big, folksy ballad and when he presented his melody idea to Holder, the lyrics to My Oh My were created. The melody came from an idea that Lea had while listening to Hill and Holder tuning up in the dressing room before a gig at a University in Wales. This track became a huge hit in the UK, peaking at #2 and #37 in the US. The track is also a recommended track by allmusic.

"High and Dry" was originally covered by female rock band Girlschool which was produced by both Holder and Lea. Chris Ingham stated "High and Dry is known for showing notable Holder vocal, once memorably described by Melody Maker's Jim Arundel as "a blistering yell that's akin to Little Richard undergoing throat surgery by blowtorch without an anaesthetic". High And Dry is also for its unapologetic commemoration of insensitive womanising; "you want equality", goes the lyric, "you won't get none of that from me". How that fits with Slade's declaration in My Oh My that they "believe in woman" is difficult to say, but a politically correct Slade wouldn't be Slade at all."

"Slam the Hammer Down" opens the original album with a shouted soliloquy by Holder from a helicopter. Chris Ingham from Rock's Backpages stated "The track features an elaborately motor racing/sex metaphor." The track was issued as a promo in the US only.

"In The Doghouse" featured brass instruments for the first time in a Slade track for years. Chris Ingham stated "In The Doghouse celebrates the carefree indiscretions of youth." Noddy Holder later recalled "there was plenty of good stuff on that album...we could have, theoretically, had another single...it would have been a hit", Holder was probably talking about In The Doghouse.

"Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" appeared as a b-side to Slade's 1983 hit My Oh My. The title was used for the American version of The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome. The song also appeared on the American release. Chris Ingham wrote "the track is a song about a drunk driver strongly advising his amorous passenger not to grope him while he's being followed by the police. The chorus is as fast as anything Slade ever recorded while the production typifies Slade's sound in the mid-80s." The track is also a recommended track by allmusic.

"Cheap 'n' Nasty Luv" is described by Chris Ingham as "another in the series of Slade songs which display an interest in the oldest profession (see also Standing On The Corner, When Fantasy Calls) though the usual lusty appreciation is set aside here and replaced with an empathetic view of a young lady unhappy in her situation." On the American release, Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply, the song is shorter than the European version which adds an extra synthesizer section.

"Can't Tame a Hurricane" was originally taken from the 12" version of My Oh My. The track featured on Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply but not The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome until the Salvo remaster in 2007. On the European release, the title was changed to "Don't Tame a Hurricane. Chris Ingham wrote "Don't Tame A Hurricane has a rocking terseness and directness that recalls Slade's '70s heyday while packing an '80s punch. The 'hurricane' of the song title refers to a larger than life character who won't be tied down and who's an "international cocktail who'll end up on the rocks".

"(And Now the Waltz) C'est La Vie", described by Chris Ingham as "a waltz-time anthem about the bittersweet feelings surrounding an end-of-affair tryst", was originally released in 1982 as a Christmas single. In November 2005 on one of his regular TV-reviewing slots on the Mark Radcliffe BBC Radio 2 show, Holder was asked to choose a track from the recently released Best of Slade. To Radcliffe's surprise Holder chose this flop single. Holder reasoned the track showed off his voice really well.

"Ready to Explode" is an eight-and-one-half-minute track that that opened side two of the original vinyl album. It is a multi-themed song suite about the excitement of motor racing, inspired in part by the Jim Steinman's work with Meat Loaf. Guitarist Dave Hill said "I seem to remember that he was hooked on the Bat Out of Hell album at the time, and he wanted to make a record about...being on the edge and all this type of thing". The track also featured Pete Drummond doing announcements on the track. The song was split into four different parts:

Part 1: The Warm Up

Part 2: The Grid

Part 3: The Race

Part 4: The Dream

The album's chart run in America for a total of 18 weeks:

05/05/1984 - #110

12/05/1984 - #92

19/05/1984 - #75

26/05/1984 - #51

02/06/1984 - #47

09/06/1984 - #42

16/06/1984 - #35

23/06/1984 - #34

30/06/1984 - #33

07/07/1984 - #33

14/07/1984 - #48

21/07/1984 - #48

28/07/1984 - #51

04/08/1984 - #52

11/08/1984 - #62

18/08/1984 - #77

08/09/1984 - #98

15/09/1984 - #111

Canada's CD release is manafactured in Japan?

The album's chart run in Canada totalled 30 weeks:

21/04/1984 - #93

28/04/1984 - #77

05/05/1984 - #69

12/05/1984 - #54

19/05/1984 - #42

26/05/1984 - #32

02/06/1984 - #28

09/06/1984 - #27

16/06/1984 - #26

23/06/1984 - #26

30/06/1984 - #27

07/07/1984 - #26

15/07/1984 - #26

21/07/1984 - #26

28/07/1984 - #27

04/08/1984 - #36

11/08/1984 - #36

18/08/1984 - #36

25/08/1984 - #36

01/09/1984 - #36

08/09/1984 - #39

15/09/1984 - #40

22/09/1984 - #43

29/09/1984 - #54

06/10/1984 - #54

13/10/1984 - #54

20/10/1984 - #54

27/10/1984 - #61

03/11/1984 - #68

10/11/1984 - #84

A fourth (Promo) single was released from the album in the USA, Slam The Hammer Down (Hot) / Slam The Hammer Down (Hotter) Mixes.

Many thanks to Gordon 'Rasputin' Kerr for supplying the Canadian cover art for this release, he may find his vinyl one day and then I'll get a decent scan of the rear cover. If you look carefully at the illegible credits on the vinyl rear cover, they don't seem to match the CD release? :-/

Welcome

There is nothing new on this blog, everything here has been previously available elsewhere, in one format or another. My aim here is to try to ensure that the information is available to all Slade fans everywhere.

My thanks to Chris Selby (without whom I would know nothing)and anybody else that has supplied anything personal to this or any other media collection. I must apologise to Chris Charlesworth for taking liberty's with his book. Anybody who is interested in the group's history should invest in a copy of 'Feel The Noize', generally considered to be The Slade Bible by most fans. And last but by no means least,Keith Farley ('N Between Times) and John R. Woodhouse (Brum Beat) who have provided much background information by way of their on-line research, These should be studied by anybody with any interest in the 60's Midland Beat era. More general 60's info can be found at Marmalade Skies, a source of invaluable pop essentials.

Any offer of missing artwork would be gratefully received. My main concern is to get 'readable text' for the trainspotters.

Contributors

Official Media

All of Slade's official releases have been remastered and released on CD with good quality packaging and comprehensive sleeve notes by Salvo for Union Square. I would recommend the purchase of this collection to anybody who is interested in the group. This blog will not be making any official music available for download.

Images are for review or research purposes only. All images, audio, video, text, etc. is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

The Historian

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris Selby for his input. This site owes much, if not all, to his relentless research and charitable nature. Keep up the good work mate.

Slade Fans

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Subject: From Roots To Boots

mcp59 at live dot co dot uk

Copyright

No part of this work should be reproduced or used without the express permission of the author or his associates. Failure to comply may result in legal action. This blog copyright of Michael Parker and associated sources.